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American Indians/Transcript
Transcript The outline of a Native American man in a long headdress is shown. He rides a horse and is poised to shoot an arrow from a bow. Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. The camera pans to the left to reveal that the man and the horse are part of a larger metal sculpture that includes other Native American men on horses. A man, Tim, and a robot, Moby, stand in front of the sculpture. MOBY: Beep? TIM: It’s a monument to the American Indians who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn. Pretty impressive, huh? Moby nods, and Tim holds up a letter, which he then reads. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What can you tell me about American Indians? From Milo. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: Well, the first thing you should know is that the term “Indian” is really a mistake. When Christopher Columbus first landed in the Americas in 1492, he was sure he had reached India. So, he used the term “Indians” to refer to the people he met on shore. Of course, he was wrong about where he was, but the name stuck. A group of men in European-style clothing are shown on a beach. The man at the front of the group holds a sword and a flag. Several Native American men bow to the group. TIM: Since then, a number of terms have been used to identify the land’s original inhabitants —and their descendants living today. Text reads: Indigenous Peoples of America, Amerindians, Original Americans, American Indians, Native Americans, First Nations. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, they originally came from Asia. Most of them probably crossed a land bridge that used to exist in the Bering Strait, between Alaska and Russia. There’s still some debate about when people first came over, but it was definitely more than 10,000 years ago. The camera zooms in on a map of far eastern Russia and western Alaska to show the thin body of water that separates them. A section of land replaces the water, connecting the two land masses. An arrow points from Russia to Alaska. TIM: These first immigrants gradually developed into thousands of separate societies, each with its own language and culture! Three Native American men in different dress are shown. One man wears a poncho and a half-circle headdress. Another has an animal skin draped over one shoulder and two horizontal stripes of paint covering his forehead and eyes. He also wears feathers in his hair. The third man wears a beaded necklace and a feathered headdress. As the men move their mouths, a speech bubble appears over each. Each bubble is a different color. TIM: Some tribes were nomadic. That means they moved with the seasons, following the animals they depended on for food. Other groups mastered farming, allowing them to build permanent settlements. A group of Native Americans are shown walking through a field. Next, two dome-shaped huts are shown. Two women sit on mats outside one of the huts and prepare food. Another passes by with a basket of corn balanced on her head. TIM: In Central and South America, the Aztec, Maya, and Inca formed highly complex civilizations. Their societies included large cities with organized governments and religions. A map of Central America and South America is shown. An area that covers much of presentday Mexico is highlighted, and a stone face and the label “Aztec” appear next to it. Another area in the lower part of present-day Mexico and present-day Guatemala is highlighted, and another stone face and the label “Maya” appear next to it. Finally. A thin area approximately two-thirds of the length of South America is highlighted along the west coast of the continent. A third stone face and the label “Inca” appear next to it. Next, three stone, pyramid-like structures are shown. Each has a rectangular structure with three openings on its top. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The place we now call the United States became home to a huge number of tribes. For example, in the Northwest, tribes like the Kwakwaka’wakw and Chinookan lived through hunting and fishing. A map of the United States divided into eight regions is shown. A totem pole that is composed of four stacked heads and a pair of wings appears over the two northwest regions, which cover present day Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho and Montana. TIM: In the Southwest, the Pueblo and Navajo managed to farm in the desert through irrigation. They lived in buildings made with various types of dried mud, including adobe, a kind of clay brick. A city of rectangular clay dwellings appears over a southwest region that covers present-day Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Texas. TIM: In the Great Plains, tribes like the Sioux hunted for bison and other large animals. An elaborate headdress made of eagle feathers appears over the region that covers most of the Midwest. TIM: In the Southeast, the Mississippian peoples built villages with flattened pyramids, known as platform mounds. A small house on top of a pyramid with a flattened top appears over the southeast region that covers parts of the present-day Gulf states, as well as parts of Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Virginia. TIM: And in the Northeast, six Iroquois nations united under a constitution called the Great Law of Peace. Many historians believe the United States Constitution borrowed some ideas from it! A Native American man smoking a long pipe appears over the northeast region that covers present-day New England the Great Lakes region. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, sure! Alaska has been home to quite a few native groups over the years—and plenty still live there today. Some native Alaskans include the Athabascans, the Eskimo, the Aleuts, and the Tlingit. A map of Alaska is shown. A person dressed in a hooded outfit made of animal skins is shown over the map. A wolf-like dog stands by the person. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, unfortunately many of the Native American civilizations are gone now. There are many reasons. Some of them were killed by invaders, and lots more died of diseases brought to the New World by Europeans. In South and Central America, Spanish explorers, or conquistadors, enslaved entire nations. And in North America, many Indians died as European settlers came in and took their lands. Two conquistadors, wearing metal helmets and breastplates, are shown next to a line of Native American men who are shackled together. One conquistador points to the men as they shuffle by. Next, two Native Americans watch from horseback on the top of a hill as a line of covered wagons passes by. TIM: During westward expansion in the 1800s, the US government made treaty after treaty with various tribes, promising that if they’d move west, the tribes could keep their new lands. But the government kept going back on its promises. And it often used brute force to take American Indians’ territories. The left half of the screen shows a Native American man with two long braids and a feather in his hair shaking hands with a man in a uniform and a wide-brimmed hat. The right side of the screen shows three frowning Native American men and two men in uniforms. One of the uniformed men points at the Native Americans, and the other sits with his back to them and his arms crossed. TIM: Tens of thousands of Indians died from European diseases and poor living conditions forced on them by white settlers. Naturally, relations between new Americans and American Indians grew pretty hostile. By the twentieth century, most American Indians in the US were living on reservations—areas of land set aside for them by the government. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it is a sad history. But, we can still learn a lot from the American Indians. People of American Indian ancestry have worked hard to maintain their cultures and celebrate their traditions. The screen is split into three sections. The first shows a magazine titled “Native Peoples” with a young Native American woman on its cover. The second shows a Native American woman holding a woven mat in one hand and reeds in the other. The third shows a smiling Native American family. TIM: Speaking of which, they’re showing a movie back at the center—want to go? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Alright, let’s do it! Tim and Moby walk off screen, and the camera zooms out, revealing more of the metal sculpture.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts